Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site

Atlanta, Georgia: The sweet Auburn Community in Atlanta is home to the most powerful civil rights leaders our country has ever known. His legacy is alive and well at the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site where visitors can pay tribute to Dr King’s legacy by walking through the streets of his childhood.

The vision of preserving the history of this neighborhood began in 1974 with several building being added to the National Register of Historic Places. The preservation expanded in 1977 when it was declared a National Historic Landmark. The Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site was finally established in 1980 and included roughly 35 acres historically significant buildings.

A visit to the historic site begins with a stop at the Visitor’s Center. A walk down the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame through the Gandhi Promenade will lead you from the parking lot into the Visitor’s Center. Here you will find exhibits that chronicles the life of Dr King and his struggles to ensure equal rights for all people.

From there, the journey takes to the streets of the Sweet Auburn community and to the Ebenezer Baptist Church. It was here that Dr King was baptized as a young boy and he spent his childhood sitting in the congregation and listening to his father preach. This was also where he was ordained as a minister after giving a sermon at the age of 19 and where he would continue to serve as a co-pastor with his father until his death.

The next stop on the tour is the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the headquarters of the civil rights organization founded by Coretta Scott King, Dr King’s wife. Here you will find more exhibits highlighting the non-violent protests that helped shape our nation’s civil rights movement. It is also the final resting place of Dr King and his wife Coretta. They will forever be at rest, side by side in the center of a reflecting pool next to Freedom Hall.

Next on the journey is a stop at Fire Station 6. Built in 1894, this fire station served Sweet Auburn until 1991. It is here that you will learn about the desegregation of the Atlanta Fire Department.

A brief walk through a row of shotgun houses brings us to the final stop on the tour, Dr King’s boyhood home. It was this modest two story house at 501 Auburn Avenue where he was born in 1929. Today visitors can take a guided tour through the home and get a glimpse into the childhood home where Dr King lived until he was twelve years old.

The Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site is operated by the National Park Service and is open year round. Admission to the site and all exhibits are free, however a free ticket is needed to tour the King Boyhood Home. These tickets are available first come, first serve and available at the information desk at the visitor’s center. The tickets are free but because of the popularity of the tour, go quickly.

Click on the photo above to view my Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site photo gallery.

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